The Pittsburgh Steelers have already been written off as championship contenders for the 2010 season. This is promising news. If you have been following this franchise for a while you know that the Black and Gold have not been particularly good front runners over the past few decades, with the 2009 season being only the latest example of how high expectations usually lead to disappointment.

What follows is summary of the conditions that could lead to that seventh Lombardi Trophy this year.

Isnít it a bit early, you may ask, to be addressing such concerns? It is more than a month before training camp begins. Well, from my perspective, thatís the challenge. Iíve been busy working on a contribution to the MSP Annual (an interview with four time SB champion Randy Grossman. Hope you like it.), but watching the events of the winter and spring with great interest. Iím not making any concrete predictions here. Someone could step in a hole on the first day of camp and change the trajectory of the entire season. What Iím aiming for is to illuminate a set of conditions that can be tracked throughout the season (argued and debated every step of the way) and could, if enough of them fall the right way lead to a championship run. Surprisingly little has to go right in order to be successful and, conversely, surprisingly little has to go wrong in order to fail. When speaking of the success of the Steelers teams of the Ď70s Randy Grossman stated that you have to be good, but you have to be lucky too. But before moving forward, a couple of disclaimers.

Injuries. It is unrealistic that in todayís NFL that any team can escape injuries. And I agree with Coach Tomlin that injuries should not change the expectations or goals of the team. We can hope, however, that what injuries do come happen sooner rather than later in the season, are not of the catastrophic variety (season or career ending) and touch lightly if at all on certain key positions.

Distractions. Particularly important this year, letís hope we have already peaked in the knucklehead department for this season. No police blotter stuff, no failed substance abuse tests, no psychological or emotional breakdowns, no silly behavior over money, contracts or roles on the team. Unlike injuries these are avoidable. Letís hope that no one becomes what Tomlin likes to refer to as Ďthe Guyí, beyond our current problems.

http://www.behindthesteelcurtain.com/

suitanim

06-25-2010, 09:29 AM

There were predictions as bad as 7-9 and the basement of the AFC North in 2005.

And we won the Super Bowl.

stillers4me

06-25-2010, 09:33 AM

I have a gut feeling about this season...........

But then I said that last year. :chuckle:

polamalubeast

06-25-2010, 09:54 AM

There were predictions as bad as 7-9 and the basement of the AFC North in 2005.

And we won the Super Bowl.

Also in 2004, the steelers were ranked 26th in the offseason, after having had a season of 6-10 in 2003 and the steelers have finished the season 15-1!

They were to become a moment, the 4th team in history to finish the season with a record of 15-1, even if it was classified 26th in the offseason!

Indo

06-25-2010, 09:54 AM

SWEEEEEEED!

(Oh...wait...nevermind. I just like saying that...)

Important factors:

No injuries
Ben getting and keeping his head in the Game
Aaron being Aaron and Troy being Troy
Pound the rock. Pound the rock. Pound the Rock.
Special Teams (need I say more?)
A few "creative" plays here and there----we know ARE is capable
Ward and Miller doing their thing
Wallace proving that he can be an elite receiver in this league
No more empty backfields on 3rd and 1

:tt03: 79 days...

solardave

06-25-2010, 01:31 PM

Strong healthy defense with a passrush so the secondary can do there job. We need pressure nonstop up front which means Aaron, Casey and Deisel have to tie up the run so we can attack on the outside and up the middle with Farrier and Timmons. Troy stays healthy and Bmac shows us why we brought him back. On offense our line improves more and we pund the ball. We know we can run outside with Mendy and he's tough when we need him to be but he needs a spell and either Dwyer or the Tank are probably leading candidates. Wallace has to turn it up a notch with a #3 either El, Sanders or Brown stepping up and of course Hines needs to stay healthy. I think this is the year Heath makes his start in the probowl.

salamander

06-25-2010, 10:23 PM

I like when people write us off early. It makes it all that much sweeter when we prove 'em all wrong.

Galax Steeler

06-26-2010, 04:49 AM

I still believe that we are going to have a pretty good season. People say we can't win without Ben that is not true.

Nadroj 20

06-26-2010, 07:46 AM

I still believe that we are going to have a pretty good season. People say we can't win without Ben that is not true.

Honestly I cant wait for those first 4 games without Ben. I think the team will be ready to prove something to the media and everyone else that it is possible to win without Ben.

How freaking awesome would it be when we are 4-0 when Ben comes back!?!

steelpride12

06-26-2010, 07:58 AM

I just hope the entire league writes the Steelers off, the earlier they do they better. This just "feels" like a season where the Steelers fight through all the off season adversity and have a productive, successful season. We will get back on track with the run game, and Troy and Smith will be healthy making it a whole new ball game.

ALLD

06-26-2010, 09:02 AM

1. There is little chance the Bengals will repeat as Division Champions. The key to winning the Super Bowl is to win your division first.
2. Eliminate the obvious competition like the Browns, Bucs, Giants, etc.
3. Play like a team instead of a group of overpaid individuals.
4. Avoid injuries while continuing to perform at a high level.
5. Avoid hanging around Lawrence Taylor, Mike Vick, bars in Georgia and casinos in Nevada.

Vincent

06-26-2010, 09:02 AM

This team is good enough to beat any team in the league. IMHO, the biggest issue is injury, which was the major factor in last year's disappointment. There is no reason to think they can't win a 7th this year.

vasteeler

06-26-2010, 09:25 AM

i just hope we ave a better plan this year in case troy or aaron go down again

steeldawg

06-26-2010, 09:34 AM

the key will be the first 4 games without ben i think they will make us or break us.

The Duke

06-27-2010, 05:44 PM

Not beating themselves would be of pretty good help

Seems like that's what derailed them most of last year

Killer

06-29-2010, 08:44 AM

the biggest issue is injury, which was the major factor in last year's disappointment.

Yep - anything can happen - and most of it is bad.

The two players on defense we could least afford to lose in Troy and Aaron Smith, we lost for most of last year - and it killed us in the 4th quarter.
But the Steelers still finshed 9-7. A good year for most teams.

This we know. Ben is irreplaceable, and we already lost him for the first month of the year.

I fear for Ward's hamstrings.

We can only pray for Timmons' ankles.

Steeldude

06-29-2010, 10:58 AM

with polamalu back lebeau won't play the cowardly defense he was employing during his absence.

siss

06-29-2010, 11:41 AM

1. There is little chance the Bengals will repeat as Division Champions. The key to winning the Super Bowl is to win your division first.
2. Eliminate the obvious competition like the Browns, Bucs, Giants, etc.
3. Play like a team instead of a group of overpaid individuals.
4. Avoid injuries while continuing to perform at a high level.
5. Avoid hanging around Lawrence Taylor, Mike Vick, bars in Georgia and casinos in Nevada.
1. Even a blind squirrel finds a nut.
2. Browns suck, Bucs suck and Eli isn't our QB.
3. That will come down to leadership
4. Bubble wrap for them all!
5. See #4

stlrtruck

06-29-2010, 12:20 PM

Here's my 5 keys to the Steelers having a championship run this season:

1) Stay low-key
2) Stop talking, start doing
3) Keep the intesity on for 16 regular season games and 3 (maybe 4) post-season games
4) Play for 60 minutes, every freakin' game.
5) Limited communication with the media